Happiness
by trunks111
Summary: InoHinata. Yuri. Shoji-ai. Feared and respected, Ino is leader of the most respected group at the univeristy. Hinata, is mysterious, not much is known about her, she rarely talks to anyone. Ino has been drawn to her for years now. She doesn't know why, but it might be love. Is happiness finally possible for her?
1. Possibilities

Flipping her blond hair from her eyes, she continued to dress in her customary black cargo shorts, black fish net tank top, black trench coat, black finger-less gloves, and her black mid-boots on last. Another day, another day of college. Of being the most respected and feared girl in the university. She had become such by beating the shit out of one Temari, a few years before she started going to the university. Temari had tried calling her a slut, Ino had fixed it by breaking her nose and cracking her jaw. She would have continued, but administrators showed up, pulling her off the other girl.  
Now, no one messed with her, and she had a following. It consisted of Tenten, Kin, Tayuya, Zaku, Shikamaru, and Gaara. They all wore a black trench coat over their other black clothing items. They were all feared and respected. No one messed with them, or if they did, unpleasant things followed.

She plugged her headphones into her purple iPod, Lift me up by Five Finger Death Punch blared in her ears as she slung her purple Under Armour drawstring bag on her back. She walked to the cafeteria, grabbing a tray of cereal and applesauce before sitting with her already assembling group.  
They ate in near silence, Ino sat watching the various other students. As always, one in particular caught her eye.

Hinata Hyuga. Pale skinned, purple haired, lavender eyes. Dressed always in black skinny jeans of some sort, long sleeves of black, gray, purple, or dark blood-red. Her hair normally obscured her face, whether by accident or design, Ino could rarely tear her eyes from the girl. They had never really spoken. But they shared two classes that semester. Interpretive Art and Analytical Psyche.

Their first class was Psyche. It was her luck that day, she and Hinata would be paired for the assignment.  
Hinata was quiet, not saying very much, simply writing in a beautiful script even though they were supposed to speak to their partner.

The first part was create a hypothetical situation and evaluate your and your partner's reaction to the situation, what would be said/done and why, as deep reasoning as possible.  
Perfect, she thought with a smile at the purple haired girl.

"Hinata," Ino said softly.

The other girl looked up suddenly, as though startled that Ino would speak to her.

"My hypothetical situation is that I approached you one day in the cafeteria, and I state that I am interested in you as a possible girlfriend, as in dating. How would you react to a thing like that?" she leaned forward, gazing intently into the girl's eyes.

She blushed and looked down a moment, before looking back up, her blush slightly fainter. "I would be shocked at first, but then I would consider your words, think you were simply lying, trying to paint me as some sort of lesbian. But then, I would realize that you would not do such a thing. You have... Well, honor. I would realize that for some reason, you were truly attracted to me, and wanted to date me."

"Hold on, hold on," Ino stopped her, scribbling as fast as she could, then asking her to repeat parts.

Finished, she sat up and grinned at the pale girl.

"My hypothetical is what would you do if you came upon one of your friends beaten bloody, unable to speak to tell you who did it."

"First, of course, I would be outraged. I would be incredibly angry, but I would calm myself enough to get them to the hospital, then contact the others, to see if they knew anything and tell them what happened. But I would be angry, incredibly so. Unless the beating was deserved, I would seek revenge, because that was one of my own, under my protection. They are loyal to me, so I return the sentiment," Ino told her, watching as the writing began again, repeating things when she asked.

The next part required them to further examine why they reacted as they did in the hypothetical. What part of the psyche was responsible for the feelings. Once the paper was finished, they turned it in and returned to their seats, the professor dismissed those who were done, no homework that night.

That class was every Tuesday and Thursday, as was the art, her only other class, was a math that was once a week for two hours. Art wouldn't before a few hours, so she decided to wander.  
The assignment had been interesting. Perhaps Hinata liked her... Hands in her pockets, head tilted to the sky, she listened to The Pride by Five Finger Death Punch. Hinata was interesting... Beautiful, incredibly smart. What more could she desire?  
Alas, Hinata hadn't mentioned her feelings on the matter of Ino asking her out, she simply said that Ino honestly liked her. Nothing about her own feelings. Heh, she had been played! It was entirely possible that Hinata felt nothing for her, was only being nice because of who she was. Although..., there was that blush. The blush that Hinata had when the hypothetical was first spoken. It did not dissipate throughout their conversation, it lessened, but did not go away. Perhaps there was hope yet. Interesting, interesting, she mused, smiling slightly. The fun was just beginning.

Could she finally find herself a lasting girlfriend? She had tried dating Tenten, but the girl was so..., well..., boring. She had dated Tayuya for quite a time, a year and a half. But, as all things tend to do, it ended, she wasn't too hurt over it though, the red-head was happy now, with Kin. It made her smile to see them so happy. She would never stand between someone and their happiness. A new beginning perhaps? One with..., a happy ending? All things are possible... She smiled as Believe by Hollywood Undead began to play as she walked back to her dorm room.


	2. Amusement

Upon arriving at her dorm room, she opened the door and walked in a few steps. What she saw on her roommates bed made her grin, and she took out her phone, snapping a photo, it made a shutter sound so one girl looked up.

"Ino!"

Grinning and laughing, she took off out of the room and down the hall. The other girl ran after her.

"You might not want to run with that still on your face!" Ino yelled to the girl as she ran, still laughing.

She didn't stop running until she reached the library, in which she sat down by the walls with the tables. She had seen and captured a picture of Tayuya eating out Kin! She doubled over, holding her stomach as she tried to laugh quietly. When Tayuya had gotten up to run after her, she still had Kin's juices all over her chin and cheeks. She continued to chuckle as quietly as she could, it was great! And she had a picture to taunt them with. She kept chuckling, covering her mouth with her hands, in effort to quiet them but it still wasn't working.

"Something funny?" A soft, voice asked her from one of the tables.

Startled slightly, she looked up. Hinata was sitting there, gazing at her curiously.  
"Y...yes, very much so," Ino replied, trying hard to keep a straight face and failing miserably.

Hinata looked at her, the question in her eyes.  
"I'd tell you, but..., I'm not that kind of person," Ino replied, willing her face into seriousness, "But..., I mean, if we got to know each other better, I could tell you."

Hinata said nothing more, just gazed at Ino a few seconds longer, before returning to the book that was in front of her. Ino calmed almost immediately after that. Somewhat annoyed that Hinata was ignoring her attempts. She sat a few moments longer, exiting out of the photo album on her cell before standing and going to wander a while longer, as art wasn't for another couple of hours.  
She pondered what she would draw for art, as she wandered, The Loss by Hollywood Undead began to play as an idea formed.

She walked to art, arriving about five minutes before class was to start. She set up an easel with a canvas beside the giant mirror. She also acquired a step-stool.  
Ino began by drawing the mirror's frame. She studied it before she began, occasionally glancing at it again, and stepping up on the stool to get the height of the mirror. She smoothed her thumb over each line, blurring the edges of the frame. The frame wasn't going to be the focus. It had to seem indistinct. It took her the whole class to finish just the mirror, their teacher, Sasori, walked by inspecting their work thus far. He seemed intrigued by her own work so far, as he studied it a few seconds before moving on.  
He was giving them two to three weeks for the project, three if the majority needed more time, two if the majority was nearly finished. She was quite excited with what her work was going to be. It would be a portrait sort of. Outside the mirror would be her, profile, staring into the mirror. The mirror image would show her full body, but instead of her black clothes, she would be wearing white. And for the coloring of the mirror's image, she planned to use a metallic white paint. For the outside image, she would use plain, jet black paint.

It was going to be magnificent. She could hardly wait until the next class to continue. As she was exiting the classroom, she glanced over to Hinata. Her work lay on the table still. So far, it was a gray sketch of what looked to be a cage, or at least, bars of some sort. Ino hoped Hinata would be one of the ones Sasori chose to have share. She would volunteer to share as well, usually, five people from each class shared, some even had their projects displayed around the university.

As she walked down the hall, she felt her phone buzz. She removed it from her pocket, reading the text from Gaara. 'Tonight?'

'Yeah,' she replied, going to the cafeteria for a quick lunch/dinner.

She grabbed a tray of spaghetti with the brown sauce and tiny meatballs, with applesauce on the side. She ate while texting the others, they would all be making their way to the parking lot in the next half hour. Her food finished, she reached for the drink that wasn't there. Sighing, she got up and threw her tray away. She wanted a Monster Assault. Those fuckers were delicious. She would have to get one that night when they went out.

She stopped by her dorm room, opening the door only slightly and tossing her bag near her bed before closing the door back and walking to the parking lot. They were going to take Zaku's truck, with Zaku and Shikamaru in front, and the rest in the bed. Likely they would hit a gas station then just go to the lake.

She was one of the last to arrive, but they climbed in without much comment. They piled out at the gas station, getting various drinks for themselves before returning to the truck.  
When they reached the lake, they all got out and laid in the grass, gazing at the sky or the lake. They spoke quietly amongst themselves, just enjoying the cool air. Worry free for a few hours.

"So Tayuya, that was... Pretty great earlier today," Ino said with a smirk, knowing the others would be listening.

"Shut up," she growled, warningly, but not really angry.

"I was just saying...," Ino replied.

"You should have knocked!"

"You should have... Done something to notify me you were busy," Ino retorted.

Tayuya snorted but said nothing more, her arm tightening around Kin.  
"You know I won't show anyone what I got," Ino said quietly, just loud enough for her alone to hear.

The red-head was quiet, saying nothing more.

They all laid in near silence for another couple hours before piling back into the truck and returning to the university and their respective dorm rooms.


	3. A Date

The day was a practical blur until she returned to art, her mind was consumed with ideas for her newest work. She worked on it until the class ended, the image in the mirror begun. Now that she had finally worked on it, her thoughts turned to Hinata. The quiet, pale skinned beauty that did not rise to any bait Ino offered, that said very little despite Ino's attempts at conversation. It was infuriating and enticing at the same time. She wanted to know more aobut her. If possible, she wanted to date her.

She sent a mass text to her friends, asking if they knew anything of her.  
The replies varied from nothing to that she was quiet and brilliant, she had never dated anyone to their knowledge, and she didn't seem to really have friends that she sat with, she didn't seem to really talk to anyone.  
All the more reason to seek her out. She sent another text, asking if anyone knew where she spent her time when she wasn't in class. Most replied that they didn't know, and a few replied in the library, so Ino went there, intent on finding the purple haired girl and getting something out of her.

She did not see her at the front near the computers, so she walked among the shelves.  
At last, she saw her, sitting alone at one of the tables in the very back of the library, with some of the largest books, mostly references. She was bent over a few different books, comparing notes. She watched for a time, leaning against one of the shelves.

At last, patience nealy exhausted, she walked forward, taking a seat across from the girl. Her prescence was not acknowledged. Still she waited, at last, Hinata looked up at her with piercing lavender eyes.  
"Yes Ino?" her voice was angelically sweet, yet tinged with annoyance.

"I wanted to ask you something," Ino began conversationally, leaning back in her chair, sitting crooked so that she had one arm around the top of the chair and her legs crossed in the middle of the walkway.

Hinata stared at her imploringly.

"Would you go out with me sometime?" Ino asked, with a glance in the girl's direction, eyes searching her face for any hint of reaction, she found none.

"Fine. Just let me know when and where." the girl stated, as if Ino asking her out was completely normal, she even slid a scrap of paper with her phone number in Ino's direction before going back to her books.  
Ino sat there, incredulous. All she had to do, was ask. ASK!

Grumbling to herself, she grabbed the paper, stuffed it in her pocked, and angrily walked to her dorm flung the door open, the doorknob denting the wall, and she flopped facedown into her bed.

"You okay?" Kin asked, looking over at her roommate.

"Just fuckin' peachy," Ino growled.

"Uh..., I think I'll go see if Tay wants to hang...," Kin muttered, getting up and exiting the room, closing the door softly behind her.

Ino yelled into her pillow. Angry at herself, unable to believe that all she had to fucking do was _ask_ Hinata out. That was all she had to do. Still grumbling, she flipped herself over, reaching into her pocket and withdrawing the paper. The numbers were written in the clear, elegant script that was Hinata's handwriting. She reached into her other pocket and withdrew her phone, typing in the numbers and saving it.

Then, she laid there, the reality sinking in, she had Hinata's number. The girl she wanted so badly, and she had her phone number. She didn't even know she _had_ a phone! For a first date, she wanted to do something nice. She decided to text her, "This saturday night, at 8, come to the parking lot, I drive a black mustang."

"Ok."

Was the response, even so, Ino felt butterflies swirl in her stomach. She not only had her number, she had asked her out on a date.

- Saturday -

At long last, the day was upon them. And of course, Ino stressed about what she should wear. Surely not her usual clothing? Hmm..., well mostly normal, with the exception of the tank top, instead of her normal fish net, she would wear a plain black in the guys style. Dressed, hours before it was time. She was nervous to say the least.  
Kin, unable to stand Ino's pacing, left hours before, to hang with Tayuya.

With effort, Ino made herself lay down and listen to some music to calm herself. Elegy by Leaves' Eyes began and she closed her eyes, drifting on the soft melody. She dozed off, heart pounding when she woke hours later, terrified she had missed her and Hinata's date time. She pulled out her phone, 7:50pm. She swore under her breath, launching to her feet, grabbing her keys and running out to the parking lot. She unlocked it and slid into the driver's seat, five minutes until time.

She took a few deep breathes, trying to slow her pounding heart. She was nearly calm until she saw Hinata.  
Breath-taking, as usual, but more so. Her long, purple hair was straight, her bangs hanging in her eyes. She wore black skinny jeans and a blood-red hoody that zipped up.  
After a moment, Hinata saw Ino, and walked over, opening the door and sliding in, buckling herself in.

Ino started the car. She was taking her to Godfather's Pizza, a simple place, with the best fucking pizza she had ever eaten. Not much was said on the drive, it was mostly silence. Hinata opting not to speak, and Ino too nervous despite her normally calm and in-control attitude. Something about Hinata set her off balance.

Only after they arrived and ordered their food did Hinata speak to Ino, "What is the purpose of this date?"

Ino stared at her. "To get to know you better, to... maybe go on another..."

Hinata nodded as if she expected such an answer.

"I mean, I like you a lot Hinata. I have liked you for a while," Ino said, going out on a limb, taking a chance, exposing her core, something she hadn't done since Tayuya.

"I suspected so for a while now," Hinata conceded, coolly examining her nails. "Why? I wondered, Ino, who has everything, interested in me, the loner who has nothing."

Ino stared at her, Hinata was so _cold_.

The pale girl continued, "She must want something, I thought, they always do. I waited for you to approach me, yet you never did. From afar, you would gaze at me, watching me. Ice blue eyes unreadable, except for the longing. Longing for what, I did not know. The day we were paired together in Psyche, I gained some insight, although I was unsure of whether or not to trust it, if it were simply and assignment or your true feelings. By your eagerness, I discerned twas your true feelings. I waited for you to ask me out, and now, here we are."

Ino still could not speak, she could hardly believe her ears.

"Still I wonder, what is it you wish of me?" pale lavender eyes locked with ice blue.

"I... I... I want to go out with you and perhaps, become your girlfriend," Ino stuttered, unable to believe Hinata was capable of such cold, calculatingness.

"To what end?" Hinata inquired.

"Perhaps, marriage, should we both wish it," Ino replied, bewildered.

"Interesting...," Hinata said softly, no more was said as their pizza arrived, and they ate and drove back in silence.

Ino had much to think about, completely taken by surprise, Hinata wasn't at all who she thought she was...


	4. Thoughts

Mid-afternoon, Ino knocked on Shikamaru's door. She heard a muffled groan, then, "It's open."

Shaking her head, Ino opened the door and closed it softly behind her. Shikamaru was laying in his bed with a pillow over his head, his roommate was gone. She took a seat in the desk chair, spinning to face him.

"Shika," she began quietly.

He moved the pillow, looking at her, seeing her serious expression, he sat up, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"I went on a date with Hinata last night."

"Really? How'd it go?" he asked interested.

"Not at all like I would have expected," she replied, thinking back, though it didn't take much, she had been replaying what had happened over and over all night and most of the morning.

Shikamaru remained silent, waiting for her to continue. She told him everything, starting from their first conversation in Psyche all the way to their date. When she finished, he was quiet for at least ten minutes, she knew he was thinking deeply on what she said, so she waited, patiently.

Finally he spoke, "I know Neji, her cousin, is a dick. Her father is the man who owns almost all the companies in Japan, and I'm pretty sure the pressure is on for her to take after him. But, everyone seems to be of the opinion that Neji is much more suited but Hiashi won't hear of it, saying Hinata is his heir and so she must take the companies. Since you guys have Analytical Psyche and Art together, I'm guessing she wants to be either an artist or a psychiatrist of some sort. But it's like I said before, not much is known about her."

Ino nodded, waiting for him to continue.  
"Chances are, she's fighting him hard, his relentless yelling at her has probably given her some twisted thoughts and feelings on people. Like he's royally fucked her mind. You know from your psyche classes what negativity can do to a person's well-being. It's highly likely, that she's going through or has gone through some serious shit. Now, if you're serious about going after her, you need to be prepared to help her, to be there for her, but it will not be easy, Ino."

She said nothing, thinking hard about all he had said. She had already known Hinata was different. In what ways, she didn't know but she was curious. The question was, was she strong enough for Hinata? Was she strong enough to be there, to take anything Hinata said and not let it hurt? Was she strong enough to give her everything she needed?

Honestly, she didn't know. She wanted to be. She knew she had to be sure, she couldn't back down. And she wanted Hinata, truly. Despite her coldness, Ino was or rather, already had, fallen for her. She wanted to be the one Hinata came to, the one she loved, the one she could tell anything to. She wanted to be Hinata's.

She thanked Shikamaru and told him she was going to go think for a while. He nodded and watched her go, hoping she knew what she was doing.

Ino returned to her room for a few moments to change into workout clothes, some black basketball shorts and a black guys tank top, leaving her gloves and trench coat in the room, she slid the cord to her ear buds down her shirt and plugged it into her iPod. Break by Three Days Grace began to play as she jogged down the halls to the fitness area.

She worked out, losing herself in the rhythm of the exercises, her mind wandered.  
Everything Shikamaru had said made sense. She had to be totally focused if she wanted Hinata. She had to be ready for anything, strong enough for anything. She knew she was completely smitten by the pale girl, but she didn't care. She was prepared to fight for her. It was what she wanted, and, if Hinata wanted her, was willing to try, it would make her the happiest girl in the world.

She grinned as she worked out, finishing two hours later. Drenched in sweat, she walked slowly to her room. Before she got in the shower, she would text Hinata, asking if she would be interested in a second date. She would take things extremely slow. If it interested her, she would tell Hinata of her own life, not pressuring her to reveal any details about her own life, simply offering information for free. Let the paler girl get to know her, hopefully, to trust her.

She sent the text, offering a second date at Pizza Hut, and perhaps a movie afterward. gathering her normal attire, Ino went into the adjoining bathroom and got into the shower.  
When she returned to the bedroom, she had a text from Hinata, accepting the offer and asking "Why the fixation on pizza?"

Ino laughed and replied, "I don't know, Just something good! If we have another date after this one, I'll let you pick the place."

Nervously, she awaited the reply, sitting on her bed and gazing at her phone.

"Sounds like a deal, if another date is to be had after this one."

Ino smiled to herself, perhaps Hinata was coming around.


	5. Beginning

Over pizza, at Pizza Hut, Ino told her life story, to Hinata, who listened in almost completely silence. Ino told her about everything, from her first girl crush, to her very first fight, when she learned she could fight. She told her about the exhilaration of the fight, the power, the control. The way it felt to feel your fist connect into something solid, that sometimes, would give way and there would be a resounding thump, smack, or crunch.

Ino shivered as she spoke of the fights, Hinata watched her coolly, examining her reactions to her own words.

After they ate, they sat there for a while, Ino thinking, Hinata probably thinking as well, it was impossible to tell with her bangs covering her eyes. For all Ino knew, the other girl was staring at her.

"Hinata...," Ino began softly, looking up at the pale girl, her hands clasped upon the table in front of her.

Said pale girl looked up at her, her hair falling to the side of her face.

"I...," Ino began, swallowing the lump that seemed to have risen to her throat, "I care about you. I mean, I know we've only gone on one and a half dates..., but I feel like this is going to go far. I would like to go on many more dates, maybe even, eventually we could be officially, exclusive girlfriends. If you wanted that. I know I do, I'm willing to do anything to be with you. I want to be whatever you need me to be. I..., I want to be the one that you go to if you need to talk, to cry, to scream at because the one you want to scream at is impossible to. I... I want to be your... _everything_...," Ino said the last word as a mere whisper.

Hinata stared at her for a long few moments.  
At last, when Hinata did react, with was with a cold laugh. No mirth, just a cold, hauntingly hollow laugh.

"You're joking. You've got to be. You can't mean such outlandish things! No one could. No one who knows virtually nothing about another person would ever proclaim such preposterous notions!"

Ino, undeterred, spoke once more, "It's something that many people call caring for another person. Really caring about them, maybe even loving them."

Hinata stared at her again, for once, her eyes and face gave a very clear indication of her thoughts. The emotions displayed ranged from shock, to rage, to hurt, and lastly to hope.

Slowly, Ino reached forward, to clasp Hinata's hands in her own. Hinata's hands were shaking, Ino peered up into the other girl's eyes.

"If you're willing, I meant exactly what I said," Ino said softly.

Hinata didn't move her hands, didn't say anything. She simply sat, not looking at Ino, her gaze was on the table, her hair back in her eyes again.

Ino looked down at the table too, eventually, chancing a glance up, to see Hinata's shoulders shaking slightly, Ino noticed wet spots on Hinata's shirt, she released her hands and slid out of her side of the booth to slide in next to the purple haired girl. She slid her arms around her shoulders, Hinata didn't move much, but Ino felt her relax some in her arms, her shoulders still shook, Ino knew she was still crying.

Maybe, someday, Hinata would open up to her completely, it would take a long time, years probably before she knew _everything_. Ino was willing to wait.


End file.
